Recalling its resolution 38/161 of 19 December 1983 on the process of preparation of the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond, in which it, inter alia, welcomed the desire of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme to develop the Environmental Perspective and transmit it to the General Assembly for adoption, benefiting in carrying out that function from its consideration of the relevant proposals made by a special commission, which adopted the name World Commission on Environment and Development,

Welcoming the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond, prepared by the Intergovernmental Inter-sessional Preparatory Committee on the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond of the United Nations Environment Programme, referred to in General Assembly resolution 38/161, considered further by the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme at its fourteenth session and adopted in its decision 14/13 of 19 June 1987, as a basis for the further elaboration of its programme and operations, while acknowledging that different views exist on some aspects,

Appreciating that concepts, ideas and recommendations contained in the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development have been incorporated into the Environmental Perspective,

1. Expresses its appreciation for the efforts of the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme and its Intergovernmental Inter-sessional Preparatory Committee on the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond in the preparation of the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond;

2. Adopts the Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond, contained in the annex to the present resolution, as a broad framework to guide national action and international co-operation on policies and programmes aimed at achieving environmentally sound development, and specifically as a guide to the preparation of further system-wide medium-term environment programmes and the medium-term programmes of the organizations and bodies of the United Nations system, in the light of Governing Council decision 14/13;

3. Notes that the perceptions generally shared by Governments of the nature of environmental problems, and their interrelations with other international problems, and of the efforts to deal with them include the following:

(a) An international atmosphere of peace, security and co-operation, free from the presence and the threat of wars of all types, especially nuclear war, in which intellectual and natural resources are not wasted on armaments by any nation, would greatly enhance environmentally sound development;

(b) The imbalance of present world economic conditions makes it extremely difficult to bring about sustained improvement in the world's environmental situation; accelerated and balanced world development and lasting improvements in the global environment require improved world economic conditions, especially for the developing countries;

(c) Since mass poverty is often at the root of environmental degradation, its elimination and ensuring equitable access of people to environmental resources are essential for sustained environmental improvements;

(d) The environment puts constraints on as well as provides opportunities for economic growth and social well-being; environmental degradation, in its various forms, has assumed such proportions as can cause irreversible changes in ecosystems, which threaten to undermine human well-being; environmental constraints, however, are generally relative to the state of technology and socio-economic conditions, which can and should be improved and managed to achieve sustained world economic growth;

(e) Environmental issues are closely intertwined with development policies and practices; consequently, environmental goals and actions need to be defined in relation to development objectives and policies;

(f) Although it is important to tackle immediate environmental problems, anticipatory and preventive policies are the most effective and economical in achieving environmentally sound development;

(g) The environmental impacts of actions in one sector are often felt in other sectors; thus internalization of environmental considerations in sectoral policies and programmes and their co-ordination are essential for the achievement of sustainable development;

(h) Since conflicts of interest among population groups, or among countries, are often inherent in the nature of environmental problems, the participation of the concerned parties is essential in determining effective environmental management practices;

(i) Environmental degradation can be controlled and reversed only by ensuring that the parties causing the damage will be accountable for their actions, and that they will participate, on the basis of full access to available knowledge, in improving environmental conditions;

(j) Renewable resources, as part of complex and interlinked ecosystems, can have sustainable yields only if used while taking into account system-wide effects of exploitation;

(k) The safeguarding of species is a moral obligation of humankind and should improve and sustain human well-being;

(l) Building awareness at various levels of environmental conditions and management, through the provision of information, education and training, is essential for environmental protection and improvement;

(m) Strategies to deal with environmental challenges have to be flexible and should allow for adjustments to emerging problems and evolving environmental management technology;

(n) International environmental disputes which are growing in number and variety, need to be resolved by peaceful means;

4. Welcomes as the overall aspirational goal for the world community the achievement of sustainable development on the basis of prudent management of available global resources and environmental capacities and the rehabilitation of the environment previously subjected to degradation and misuse, and the aspirational goals to the year 2000 and beyond as set out in the Environmental Perspective, namely:

(a) The achievement over time of such a balance between population and environmental capacities as would make possible sustainable development, keeping in view the links between population levels, consumption patterns, poverty and the natural resource base;

(b) The achievement of food security without resource depletion or environmental degradation and restoration of the resource base where environmental damage has been occurring;

(c) The provision of sufficient energy at reasonable cost, notably by increasing access to energy substantially in the developing countries, to meet current and expanding needs in ways which minimize environmental degradation and risks, conserve non-renewable sources of energy and realize the full potential of renewable sources of energy;

(d) The sustained improvements in levels of living in all countries, especially the developing countries, through industrial development that prevents or minimizes environmental damage and risks;

(e) The provision of improved shelter with access to essential amenities in a clean and secure setting conducive to health and to the prevention of environment-related diseases, which would, at the same time, alleviate serious environmental degradation;

(f) The establishment of an equitable system of international economic relations aimed at achieving continuing economic advancement for all States based on principles recognized by the international community, in order to stimulate and sustain environmentally sound development, especially in developing countries;

5. Agrees that the recommendations for action contained in the Environmental Perspective should be implemented, as appropriate, through national and international action by Governments, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and scientific bodies;

6. Requests the Governing Council to keep under review the extent to which the long-term environmental actions recommended in the Environmental Perspective have been implemented and to identify any new environmental concerns that may arise;

7. Calls special attention to section IV of the Environmental Perspective, which spells out instruments of environmental action, to be used as support in addressing, as appropriate, problems dealt with in previous sections of the Environmental Perspective;

8. Stresses the essential role of the United Nations Environment Programme within the United Nations system in catalyzing environmentally sound and sustainable development, and agrees with the Governing Council that this role should be strengthened and that the resources of the Environment Fund should be substantially increased with greater participation;

9. Endorses the priorities and functions for the United Nations Environment Programme set out in paragraph 117 of the Environmental Perspective;

10. Decides to transmit the text of the Environmental Perspective to all Governments and to the governing bodies of the organs and organizations of the United Nations system as a broad framework to guide national action and international co-operation on policies and programmes aimed at achieving environmentally sound and sustainable development;

11. Calls upon the governing bodies of the organs and organizations of the United Nations system to consider the Environmental Perspective and take it into account in the development of their own medium-term plans and programmes as relevant to their own mandates;

12. Requests the governing bodies of relevant United Nations organizations to report regularly to the General Assembly on the progress made in achieving the objectives of environmentally sound and sustainable development in line with paragraph 114 of the Environmental Perspective;

13. Invites the Governing Council to report to the General Assembly at its forty-fourth session on the implementation of the present resolution and the relevant provisions of the Environmental Perspective.

96th plenary meeting
11 December 1987